Eurozone economy grew a paltry 0.3 percent in Q4

BRUSSELS – Official figures show the economy of the 19-country eurozone expanded by a quarterly rate of 0.3 percent in the final quarter of 2015, a relatively weak performance given tail winds such as cheap energy, a weaker currency and monetary stimulus.

The growth reported Friday by the European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat, was in line with market expectations after earlier reports showed Germany, Europe's biggest economy, grew at the same rate.

Over the whole of 2015, the eurozone grew 1.5 percent. That's the highest level since 2011 but remains way below levels that would markedly reduce the bloc's unemployment rate, which remains above 10 percent.

Following the turmoil in global financial markets this year, there are worries that growth may falter.